Repository logo
 

Faculty of Management Sciences

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/13

Browse

Has files: YesSubject: search.filters.subject.COVID-19 pandemic

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on academics’ work-life balance, psychological well-being, turnover intention and productivity
    (Richtmann Publishing, 2023-01-01) Shange, Ellen Mzwakhe; Nyide, Celani John
    Achieving a good work-life balance leads to being an employer of choice as well as attracting the best employees. The same can be said of academia, where having a well-balanced work-life balance can contribute to attracting, developing, and retaining suitably qualified academics. In this study, the aim is to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on academics’ work-life balance, psychological well-being, and productivity. The contribution of this study is towards establishing strategies that can be adopted to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on work-life balance, psychological wellbeing, and academic productivity. A quantitative approach was adopted, and the target population consisted of academics from a selected university of technology in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This study employed the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique, and the data was analysed using AMOS 27 statistical software. The results obtained revealed that the majority of academics still work longer hours than is normally expected. Academics were found to have less time to spend with their families and loved ones than is considered typical in the literature for achieving a healthy work-life balance. There is evidence to show that poor psychological well-being of academics strengthens or moderates the effects of work-life balance on academic productivity, with beta = -0.232† (p < 0.100). Furthermore, the findings revealed that academics felt they did not have control over the reduction of their stress levels caused by the heavy workloads placed on them.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Review of the lockdown regulations’ impact on informal businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic
    (Durban University of Technology, 2023) Cele, Zamaswazi; Tshikovhi, Ndivhuho
    Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown regulations caused enormous changes in all business sectors because many businesses were not allowed to operate. Only a few were regarded as essential businesses, such as pharmacies and grocery shops, and allowed to operate. Lockdown regulations negatively affected the South African informal sector. As a result, it is difficult to provide accurate statistics on the entrepreneurs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are no official statistics from the informal sector. This paper aims to examine how the informal sector was affected by the lockdown down restrictions within South Africa. The paper adopts a systematic review methodology using Google Scholar and Web of Science or Scopes to search for articles on informal entrepreneurship, COVID-19, and South Africa to draw a conclusion from the analysed data. The findings indicated that most of the businesses in the informal sector were negatively affected, including workers because some of them lost their jobs and others did not receive their usual salaries due to limited working hours. There were disruptions in the supply chain and pricing of goods and services, and people could not have sustained their income during the lockdown in South Africa. In conclusion, the informal sector is one of the most vulnerable sectors that lacks access to appropriate risk management structures, and most people live on a hand to mouth basis. COVID-19 has negatively affected the informal sector, mainly through distribution and marketing systems.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Evaluating the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on the socioeconomic status of South African women
    (IKENGA International Journal of Institute of African Studies, 2023-03-30) Rena, Ravinder; Mbukanma, Ifeanyi
    This research was conducted to evaluate the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the socioeconomic status of South African women. There is an urgent need for a better understanding of the unique circumstances and provisional assistance of effective support for women throughout the Covid-19 crisis and its aftermath considering the level of impact the virus had on women. To achieve the researchobjective, a literature- based analysis was employed, which provides an in-depth analysis and evaluation of previous literature on the unprecedented nature and trend of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts on the socioeconomic status of women in South Africa. Thus, despite the limited scientific data on the most recent development of the pandemic, the findings revealed that the pandemic has escalated most variables of socioeconomic status of women in South Africa, which include high poverty rates, increased rates of unplanned pregnancy, school drop-out of schoolgirls and child labour among teenage girls, lack of income, decreased financial empowerment, reduced access to conducive healthcare, excessive maternal mortality, and growing food shortages and malnutrition. Thus, as the world continues to search for a reliable vaccine and other preventive measures for the virus, this paper recommended that policymakers and stakeholders around the globe, and most especially in South Africa, should develop coherent and strategic policies that will incorporate and attend to the socioeconomic needs of women.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Household challenges, family dynamism and online learning under COVID-19 pandemic in a South African University
    (2021-11-06) Mthalane, Peggy Pinky; Agbenyegah, Albert Tchey; Dlamini, Bongani Innocent
    Purpose: Reduce the spread of the virus amongst people, especially students and lecturers, thus online learning was introduced in 2020. To find out the effectiveness of online learning and family dynamics posed by this phenomenon Design/methodology/approach: The researchers conducted a research at one of the University of Technology in South Africa, situated in the Province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, in Pietermaritzburg. The main aim was to determine the challenges posed by online learning while students were at home, compounded by COVID-19 pandemic. Findings: The results of the analysis showed the connection between family dynamics such as family settings, online learning and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in this regard. It can then be concluded that there is a significant influence between family setting, such as bereavement, divorce, lack of internet connection and overcrowding at home, COVID-19 and the adjustment to online learning. Research limitations/implications: Lack of internet connection and overcrowding at home, COVID-19 and the adjustment to online learning.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Global impacts and trends of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cruise sector : a focus on South Africa
    (Africajournals, 2021-02-01) Sucheran, Reshma
    Cruise tourism is one of the major growth areas of international tourism, and the impact of cruise tourists on a national economy is similar to that of other foreign visitors. The cruise industry has, however, continuously faced exposure to various types of health risks, which can develop into health-related crises, to which both passengers and crew members are vulnerable The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic has reached a critical situation on a global scale and is severely impacting on the global cruise tourism industry. This papers seeks to examine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cruise tourism industry globally and in South Africa specifically. Desktop research was undertaken to gather data and insights on the unfolding global pandemic and its effect on the cruise sector. Secondary data from various national and international organisations was analysed, as well as current news reports and academic literature. The data indicates that the cruise sector is one of the hardest hit sectors of the tourism industry, and the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on this sector is devastating. The data further implies that the future of the cruise industry looks bleak, especially due to the reputational damage the sector is currently faced with.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Preliminary economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hotel sector in South Africa
    (Africajournals, 2021-01-01) Sucheran, Reshma
    Emerging infectious diseases and pandemics place a substantial burden on global economies and public health. The hospitality industry and global health pandemics are fundamentally linked, and the sector is highly vulnerable to pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic (coronavirus) has triggered an unprecedented crisis in the hospitality industry globally, and in particular, the hotel sector. As governments have introduced extraordinary measures to contain the virus, such as travel restrictions and physical distancing, which have brought the hotel sector to a standstill. This paper examines the preliminary economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hotel sector in South Africa. The data for this paper is based on the hotel sector specifically, and is extracted from a larger dataset that examined the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on all accommodation establishments in South Africa. Online surveys were administered to accommodation establishment managers. Approximately 3 000 accommodation establishments were targeted, 482 responded, of which 67 were hotels. The study confirms that the hotel sector in South Africa has experienced severe economic impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a number of hotels face the risk of bankruptcy and permanent closure. Employment has also been substantially affected by job losses, reduced pay and staff made redundant. Current concerns facing hotels are cash flow, travel restrictions, guest cancellations, low consumer spending, the overall economic uncertainty of the industry, as well as the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.